Best foundations under $60 part 1: Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation

I first bought Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation mostly because it's light and generally klutz-proof. Little did I know that it would ignite a long and intense love affair greater than my love of peanut butter on apples (don't diss it 'till you try it. I'm sorry P & A, I still love you. It's not you...it's me).

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation
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The first thing that sticks out the most with this foundation is that smells like you're walking through a fresh fruit store that stocks only the most delicious things like apricot, apples, coconuts and uh, fairy floss.

It's a medium to light coverage, I'd say and it leaves a gorgeous dewy 'I just look this radiant naturally' kind of glow that sticks around all day. The fact that it's dewy shouldn't put off the oily skin types either, some primer and powder should be ample to keep the shine away. I found the stay factor great, I went through a thirteen hour flight whilst smudging my face against a travel pillow and it was still on as though I'd just applied it (minus the dewiness). It claims to have sixteen hours of stay factor I would agree though feel like it's pushing it a little.

Another thing I love about this foundation is that it comes in a pump, which means it's hygienic and it always disperses the right amount of product to do my whole face (1 and a half pumps, since you're asking). The awesome thing about this is that the pump means that you get every last single smudge of foundation out of the bottle, nothing goes to waste. Which means more bang for your buck and more bucks to spend on your miniature animal crocheting classes.

It's pretty difficult to find a fault with my beloved Bourjois, other than the fact that is doesn't have the best colour selection in the world and it's on the pricier side of drug store foundations. But we have something special, Bourjois and I, we're in it for the long haul.

What's your favourite drugstore foundation?

What foundations could you not live without?

How to get skin like a Nordic ice queen

Blue lagoon silica mud mask
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Though ugh, seeing as I’ve never seen a Nordic ice queen; how about skin like an—um, queen. The queen.

Okay, get skin like Kate Middleton*; close enough.

A couple months ago I was lucky enough to have packed my thermals, beanie and feather boa and trekked my way over to the beautiful land of ice they call Iceland (It’s not really, such deception, Mr. Country Namer).

To put it simply, Iceland ironically, sits on top of a lot of hot water and is well known for its hot springs. The Blue Lagoon is one such hot spring in which silica mud (cue orchestral music, dramatic spotlight) can be found.

This magic mud is actually geothermal mud, which is a fancy way of saying that it comes from mud volcanoes. 

Don’t ask me how these people who first discovered the magic mud decided to slather it all over their faces, but they did and am I sure glad they did.

Because suddenly their pores looked smaller! Their skin radiant!

Kate Middleton (doesn't Kate look stunning in this photo?)
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So when I visited the Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa and I saw people with white mud all over their bodies, I didn’t judge—oh no, I ladled that stuff all over my face (literally ladled, they give you a ladle).

It's called a silica mud mask and you can get it here. You just put it on, wait five to ten minutes, and wash it off with warm water and voila, done.

The next day my skin looked—I dare say, the best I’ve ever seen it, which speaks volumes seeing as I see it a lot. And while the stuff in the bottle you can get from their website is not as good as actually being there, it’s pretty darn close.

Beautiful Iceland
IMAGE: Hazal Woods

They say the magic mud “deep cleanses and exfoliates. Naturally strengthens skin's barrier function¹. Brings out the skin's inner glow, gives it a vital energy boost and smooth complexion.”

 I say, “Never jump on a trampoline while hula hooping playing a harmonica”.

I also say, “I definitely agree.”

*I have no idea whether Kate uses this, but with the kind of radiance this magic mud gives you, you could've fooled me.

What kind of masks do you guys use or swear by?

Have you ever found a great beauty item while travelling?